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James Sulikowski, Ph.D., Â鶹´«Ã½ associate professor of marine sciences, is co-investigator for a $163,000 NOAA grant to update and determine the degree of intra-specific variation in the life history traits of blacknose and finetooth sharks within the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Sulikowski will be collaborating with Jill Hendon of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research lab and NOAA liaisons Eric Hoffmayer, Ph.D., and Trey Driggers, Ph.D., on the project funded by NOAA's Cooperative Research Program.

At present, shark populations globally are in decline, including several species in the western North Atlantic Ocean  and Gulf of Mexico. Directed fisheries have been the cause of stock collapse for many elasmobranch species,such as sharks, rays and skates; however, an equal if not greater threat to these long-lived animals is additional fishing mortality caused by mixed-species fisheries and bycatch in fisheries targeting other species. 

An inherent problem associated with the collapse of shark stocks is the lack of accurate life history information, such as age, growth, maturity and reproductive data for most species. Sharks from the Gulf of Mexico are no exception as most species lack a complete life history profile.

Consequently, biological information needed for accurate stock assessment is not available forcing analysts to use surrogate values for the critical life history characteristics such as age/size at maturity, fecundity, and reproductive periodicity, from what are perceived as closely related genus or species. The blacknose (Carcharhinus acronotus) and finetooth (Carcharhinus isodon) sharks, are two species of particular concern in the northern Gulf of Mexico, since both been identified as "overfished" in this region.

From their research, Sulikowski and his colleagues expect to develop the most detailed and accurate fishery management data for these species.